Page 132 of Sharkbait
Louise giggles and shoves me in the shoulder.
“I couldn’t help myself,” I say. “I hope you don’t mind.”
“My favorite part was, ‘you heard the lady.’” Louise does a terrible impression of me. “Way to go all old-school Clint Eastwood on him, ya dork.”
She wraps her arms around my neck and sinks into me.
“That… was awesome,” I say. “How do you feel?”
“Like you’re too good to be true,” she whispers.
“Nah. I’m the real deal. Kiss me?”
“I thought you’d never ask.”
Chapter Thirty-Three
Louise
I’m peering through the window at Adventure Bar, watching James chat with a gorgeous woman and wondering how the hell I got here.
She laughs at something he says.
He beams back at her, like making her laugh is one of his greatest joys.
They’re so at ease with one another.
So in sync.
The scene sends a pang of jealousy straight to my gut.
I know it shouldn’t.
But it does.
The Brew at the Zoo event was a success on so many levels. We ended up raising over twenty-five thousand dollars to combat ocean pollution. A staggering percentage of those proceeds came from my paintings of Meilani, a fact that still blows my mind. And I was flying high the entire night after finally exorcising Trent from my system in such a satisfying way.
But, James named his excursion company The Highs and Lows for a reason. Oftentimes, those two things go hand in hand.
When we arrived back at his place that night, we learned that Alex Trebek had died. I sobbed. For hours. I felt silly in a way because I’d never met the man. I didn’t know him, but in a bizarre sense, he’d been there for me over the years in a way my parents never had. It felt like a major loss.
James didn’t make me feel silly for a second though. He held me the whole night while I cried and told me how sorry he was. How everything was going to be okay.
This is ridiculous. I should just go in there and say hi. What did I expect? That they would hate each other? That she wouldn’t be beautiful? Iris is stunning, so why wouldn’t she be gorgeous too?
On the count of three, Louise.
One… Two… Three.
I press the door and draw James’s attention right away.
“Lou! Hey! Get over here!” he shouts.
Eva swivels on her stool to face me with a warm smile. “Hi, Louise! I’m Eva. I’ve heard so much about you.”
“Likewise.” I shake her hand. Then like a doofus, I say, “You’re, um. You’re so pretty.”
“Oh gosh, thank you.” She swings her long curtain of shiny black hair over her shoulder. “You too. Obviously.” She chuckles. “You don’t need me to tell you that. Here. Sit next to me, sit next to me.” She pulls out the stool beside her.
